Dough strip feed device



Y INVENTOR. .Hama as E.' FFHHMEH.

wwf/Q4 July 28, 1936. H. E. FARMER DOUGH STRIP FEED DEVICE Filed June 14, 1934 Patented `Iuly 28, 1936 PATENT QFFEQE DOUGH STRIP FEED DEVICE Horace E. Farmer, Grosse Pointe, Mich., assigner of one-half to Federal Engineering Company,

Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application .lune 14, 1934, Serial No. 730,629

' 12 claims. (ci. la7-14) This invention relates to feed devices and more particularly to apparatus for forming strip dough. The present application constitutes a continuationv in part of` my prior application, Serial No.

627,667, for Improvements in pretzel making ap` paratus, led June 26, 1933.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved device for feeding dough in strip form and for doing so in a manner so that the surface ofthe strip is smooth and as a result will have a glazed finish when baked'as is desirable in pretzel manufacturing.

Another :object of the invention is to provide a new ,and novel discharge nozzle for metering dough in a compact and smooth surface strip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for feeding strip dough having a smooth surface and to provide a device for this purpose of a nature such that it may be adapted to travel over a support to deposit strip dough thereon in certain desirable shapes.

AAnother object vof the invention is to providea new and novel dough kneading unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide ar-dough strip feed device having provision for Y kneading the dough and Yfor discharging the kneaded dough therefrom in a compactly formed smooth surface strip. i

These and other objects of the invention will connection with the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification and inwhich Y Fig. 5 is a View shown in cross section taken` v along the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, my doughrstrip forming apparatus comprises in general, dough feed mechanism, metering device, kneading device, and mechanism for packing the dough into a compactly formed strip having a smooth surface. 'Ihe metering device includes a-nozzle, designated in general by the numeral I Il, having a body I I in which is provided a passageway I2 extending centrally therethrough for the passage of dough.-. Preferably the pas- -sageway ,I 2 is tapered, and tapered gradually from appear from the following description taken in j a relatively large inlet at I4 to a relatively small outlet at I5. Dough is fed to the passageway I2 and forced therethrough by the feed mechanism which includes an auger I6 mounted for rotation in a container or hopper I8. Any other suitable 6 feed device may be employed such as, for example,

a piston arranged in a dough container for forcing dough therefrom under pressure. ,As dough is forced through the gradually tapering passageway I2 it is metered from a relatively large cross 10 sectional area to a relatively small cross sectional area and is well packed in its direction of travel or lengthwise of the strip because of the resistivity of the tapering passageway to the ready passage of dough therethrough.

In order to discharge strip dough from a nozzlelike structure and in a manner so thatit is well packed and as a result kneaded, and also so that it will have a smooth surface, I provide a nozzle having movable wall portions cooperating to form 20 the metering passageway I2. To accomplish this,

I utilize the plurality of rollers 20 and .arrange these rollers in the nozzle body II to roll the strip dough passing through the passageway thereof. The nozzle body II is provided with bores 22 for 25 receiving theV rollers 2U, of which there are three in the present construction, and these bores are positioned about the central passageway I2, extending longitudinally therewith.

In order to roll the dough as it travels through 30 the passageway I2, the rollers 20 are arranged so that they extend part way into the passageway, preferably throughout its length for traction with the dough. The bores 22 are positioned with relation to the passageway I2 so that they intercept 35 portions thereof throughout its length. Thus, when the rollers 25 are in operative position in the bores 22, their roller faces cooperate with the Wall portions 2li to define the tapering passageway I2 and constitute movable portions of the wall of 40 the passageway. While I have shown and described the nozzle as having three movable Wall portions or rollers, it will be understood that any number, as may be found suitable may be employed. 45

Preferably the rollers 20 are tapered, the bores 22 for receiving the same being tapered from a relatively small diameter'26 adjacent the inlet I4 of the passageway I2 to a relatively large diameter 25 adjacent the outlet I5. By employing 50 tapered rollers it will be readily understood thatthey may be arranged to be rotated about axes parallel to the centerline of the passageway I2 which is deemed desirable, although if desired rollers of uniform diameter maybe employed and.

the resistivity of the tapering passageway to itsY ready passage therethrough, while at the same time it is compressed towards its longitudinal center and well packed in this direction by the action of the rollers, which action also kneads the dough and rolls a smooth surface thereon.

A plate 28 is attached to the lower or discharge end of the nozzle body I I by screws ers 29 are supported on the upper surface of the plate 28, their shafts 39 being journaled for rotation therein. The plate 28 is formed with aY nozzle-shaped extension 3I having a passageway 32 therethrough in'registration with the passageway I2 of the nozzle. This passageway 32, it will be seen, is larger in diameter than the discharge end I5 of the nozzle, so that the dough is not metered in passing therethrough, the purpose of the extension being to serve as a guide for the spirally discharging dough strip when the nozzle is employed to travel over a support to deposit strip dough thereon in certain desirable shapes. y

A plate Sil having a tubular extension is xed to the upper endof the nozzle body II by the screws 36. A kneading element 31 is provided to knead the dough as by twisting and turning it before it is kneaded by the action of the rollers 20,

andA this kneading element is located above'the .inlet end I4 having a tubularportion 39 journaled v for rotation'in the tubular sleeve 35. Serrations 38v are provided on the inner wall of thetubular kneader for twisting and turning the dough as it passes therethrough. The tubular kneader and the inlet I4 ofthe nozzle body II are'in registraf tion, the lower end 4I) of the kneader extending to the top of the body II so that the dough passes directly from the kneader to the metering passageway I2.

ring gear 42 having internal gear teeth 43 and external gear teethM. Gears 45 may be'keyed or otherwise fixed to the shafts 41 at the upper ends Y of the rollers 20 for rotation therewith. 'These gears are in mesh with the internal gearl teeth 43 of the ring gear 42 so that rotation of the ring gear drives the rollers 20 and throughthis planetary gear system the rollers are rotated in the' same direction.

It will beunderstood that the rollers 29 may beV Vactuated. by .any one of several well known drive mechanisms. It willalso'be understood at this point that the nozzle heretofore described may be employed'as .a stationary nozzle if desired, ar-

ranged to feed strip dough onto a conveyor 50 or other support. If the nozzle is employed as a stationary nozzle, the rollers 29 may be driven by any Simple drive mechanism geared either'di-V rectly to the rollers or vthrough the ring gear 42.

In the present showing the nozzle I is adapted to travel as aunit over the co-nveyor'5, which in the present arrangement is an intermittently Yoperated conveyor, and deposits thereon strips'of Y.

dough in certain desirable shapes, as the U-shaped `strip designated at 5l. In making pretzels, the

29. The roll-v The lower end of the rotor 31 is formed with av A standard, designated in kgeneral by `the' numeral 52 may be employed having a bed plate 53 which extends over the conveyor 5G. A track 55 for the traveling nozzle, in the 'form ofY a casting is mounted on the bed plate 53 and may be xed thereto by bolts 59. The bed plate 53 isV provided with an opening 51 which may conform in shape to the opening defined by the inner guide edges 59 and GII Vof the trackso that dough may be deposited on the conveyor 59 operating there-i beneath. The nozzle ICI engages the upper inner guide face of thetrack at 59 and the lower guide face at 60.

The main drive shaft 52, driven by. any suitable source of power such ,asV an electric motor (not shown) is journaled in the standard 52. The main drive shaft 62 is connected to drive a driven shaft 63 through the bevel gears 64. The shaft 63 extends vertically through the vbed plate 53 and driven bythe sprocketsY B5 and 'respectively; n

These sprockets 65 and 65,.,it will be seen,rare

chains and mesh therewith tangentially. Y, The nozzle is fixedto travel 'with the chains at one or more places'by pins 1210i the chainlinks which are longer than the other'connectingpins so asY Varranged outside Yofthe pathof travel of theAY to extend Vinto the upper and lower plates 34 andY V2ii..respectively of the nozzle.V Y-

A ledge 15 which may be'formed integral with the casting 55 extends therearound and supports 4Q@ `a stationary gear plate -16 viixed Vtheretoby screws 11. The inner edges of thegear plate16 conform in general outline Ytofthe path of travel of the Y nozzle and has gear teeth 'I9 on its inner edge with which Vthe external gear teethM of the rotor or ringr gear 42 mesh. The body It ofthe nozzle maybe cut away as'at 18 `to permit the ring gear 42 to mesh with the'stationary internalV gear plate 16. Thus, as the nozzle travelswaround itspath over the conveyor 5I), the kneading rotorY is rotated by the. engagement of its external gear teeth'M with Vthe stationary gear plate'd'and the rollers 20 also rotated by reason of theengagement of' theinternal teeth 43 ofthe rotor with the individual gears 46 of the rollers 20.

In Fig. 2 the traveling nozzle is shown coinpleting a turn about its track voverV the conveyor andide'positng'the dough strip, indicated at 5I,

thereon. VPreferably cutting edges 8l andzrareV provided to cutthe dough'off, both at th'e start of thev nozzle over the conveyor and at the end of its travel thereover. These cuttingv edges A8l and Y 82 may be metallic knife edges supportedl as shown on Vthe bed plate 53.' With this arrange` ment there will be a Vstrip of doughextrudedV during the travel ofthe nozzle about; the shorter arc vof the track, however, these Vstrips maybe periodically collected and returned tothe hopperrIB rto be again dischargedthroughthe nozzle.

y upon tov knead the dough'. However, by the proz to connect the upper end ofthe hose to the container so as to` permit the hose to travel freely with the nozzle as it rotates about its track.

As heretofore mentioned, any one of several well known feed devices may be employed to vdeliver dough under pressure to .the nozzle I8. In

theY present feed device, the auger 4I6 is journaled for rotation within a container or hopper I8 to which dough is supplied from a second hopper 85. The hopper 86 may be mounted on the container I8 and fixed thereto by bolts 81. Dough is placed in the hopper 86 and feeds by gravity to the auger container I6.

The auger may be driven by an electric motor indicated at 90 through a drive gear 9| in mesh vwith a driven gear 92 keyed or otherwise suitably fixed to the shaft 9d of the auger. Preferably a speed rheostat indicated in general at 95 is provided for the motor so that the rate of rotation of the auger may be varied so that it feeds dough to the nozzle at a rate commensurate with the rate of rotation of the rollers 2i) and also with the rate of rotation or travel of the nozzle. Thus, if it is desired to increase and/or decrease the rate at which strip dough is being discharged from the nozzle, the speed of rotation of the rollers may be increased and/or decreased in conjunction with the speed of travel of the nozzle and the attendant adjust the rheostat 95 to synchronize the speed of the auger therewith.

A complete operation of my dough strip forming device is as follows. As dough is delivered by the auger I6 to the nozzle Ill, it passesunder pressure from the container I8 through the flexible hose 83 where it is kneaded to some extent by reason of its travel therethrough, and by the rotating travel of the hose. The dough then enters the serrated hollow rotor 31 wherein it is further kneaded by being twisted and turned as it passes therethrough. The dough then enters the metering passageway I2 wherein it is gradually reduced in cross sectional area and thus packed longitudinally of the strip. While the dough is thus advancing through the tapered passageway I2, it is at the same time compressed into a compact strip by the action of the rollers 28, constituting movable portions of the wall of the passageway, and also a smooth surface rolled thereon. As the nozzle I IJ travels with the chains 'I8 about its track, the rollers 28 are rotated through the planetary gear system, the ring gear of the rotor 31 meshing with the stationary gear plate 16.

From the foregoing description it will now be appreciated that I have provided a new and improved dough strip feed apparatus. It will also beV seen that I have provided a new and novel nozzle for metering strip dough in such a manner that it is thoroughly packed, kneaded and discharged therefrom having a smooth surface. In addition, I have provided a new and improved method for forming strip dough of the above mentioned character. Furthermore, I have provided for the extrusion of dough from a nozzlelike structure in such a manner that the strip is well packed and smooth and have provided a structure to formstrip dough of this character which is adapted for` travel so as to deposit the strip dough in certain desirable shapes.

Having thusV fully described my invention, its utility and mode of operation, what I vclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States isl. In a dough strip feed device, a plurality of rollers ,arranged with their roller faces cooperating to provide a passageway therebetween longitudinally of the roller faces, said rollers being bodily stationary and rotatable about their axes, means for delivering dough to the inlet of said passageway and for ejecting it from the outlet under pressure, and means for actuating the rollers to roll a smooth surface on the dough strip.

2. In a dough strip feed device, a plurality of rollers arranged with their axes of rotation extending in the same general direction and with their roller faces cooperating to provide a tapered passageway longitudinally of the roller faces, means for delivering dough to the inlet of said passageway and ejecting it from the outlet under pressure, and means for actuating the rollers to roll a smooth surface on the dough strip.

3. In a dough strip feed device a plurality of tapered rollers arranged with their roller faces in longitudinal juxtaposition cooperating to define a tapered passageway longitudinally of the rollers, the discharge end being formed by the relatively larger ends of the tapered rollers, and

means for actuating said rollers to roll the dough n into a compact smooth surface strip.

4. A traveling dough strip discharge nozzle comprising a body portion having a passageway for metering dough, the wall of said passageway including a movable portion operable for packing the dough in a compact strip, and means for operating said movable portion and actuated by travel of the nozzle.

5. A traveling dough strip discharge nozzle comprising a body portion having a passageway for dough, roller means arranged in the body with their roller faces forming a portion of the wall of the passageway at least at the discharge end thereof, and means for actuating said rollers to roll the dough into strip form and operable by travel of said nozzle.

6. In a dough strip feed device a traveling discharge nozzle comprising a body having a passage for dough, means operable for kneading the dough in the nozzle, movable means arranged in said body to form at least a portion of the metering passageway and operable for smoothing the surface of the dough strip, and means for actuating said movable means and said kneading means and operable by travel of said nozzle.

7. In a dough strip feed device, a traveling dis- Charge nozzle comprising a body portion having a passageway therethrough for dough, a plurality of rollers within said body portion arranged therein to cooperate in rolling the dough passing through said passageway into a compact strip, and drive means operable by travel of the nozzle for actuating said rollers.

8. In a dough strip feed device a discharge nozzle comprising, a, body portion having a central tapered bore therethrough, tapering from a relatively small inlet to a relatively large outlet and having a plurality of tapered bores extending longitudinally with said central bore and radially disposed in spaced relation thereabout, said plurality of spaced bores being arranged to intersect said centralbore 'and-taper inthe oppo-Y site directionV to the direction of taperrof` said central bore, a plurality of tapered'rollers disposed in said plurality of tapered. bores whereby portions of the niller faces project into said central. bore cooperating With the Wall portions of said central passageway to denne afpassageway Y for dough having movable and stationary Wall portions, and. means for actuating said rollers.

9. A traveling dough' strip feed device, corn- Y prising a supporting means, a plurality of rollers carried by said supporting means, said rollers being arranged with their Vroller faces cooperating to provide a passage for dough therebetween, and means for actuating said rollers to roll said dough into a smooth surfaced strip and operable by travel of said device.

10. In a feed device, a traveling discharge nozzle, rollers carried by saidl nozzle for rolling maerating said rotor.

terial passed'through said nozzle and means carried by said nozzleV and actuated bytravel of said i nozzleV for actuating said rollersV to roll said nia-V terial. ,7.

,12. In a dough strip feed device, a traveling Vdischarge nozzle, rollers carried byv said nozzle for rollingdo-ugh, passed therethrough, a rotor carried by said nozzle for knea'ding the dough passed throughV said nozzle, drivefmeans for moving said' nozzle, and means actuated by travel of saidllV`V nozzle for orx-i'ratng'saidv rollers and for alsoop` HORACE E. FARMER. 

